Pope Francis on Tuesday named three new auxiliary bishops to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
Among them was Fr Robert E. Barron, the Rector of the University of St Mary and Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. Fr Barron is also the founder of the multimedia “Word on Fire Catholic Ministries”.
The other two auxiliaries were named as Mgr Joseph V. Brennan, 61, vicar general and moderator of the curia in Los Angeles since 2013, and Mgr David G. O'Connell, 61, is a native of County Cork, Ireland, who studied at All Hallows College in Dublin before being ordained a priest of the Los Angeles Archdiocese in 1979.
Barron, 55, is known to US television viewers for having hosted "Catholicism," an award-winning 10-part DVD series.
"It is a blessing for me to work with you to introduce people to Jesus Christ and invite them to share all the gifts he wants his people to enjoy," Bishop-designate Barron said in a statement released by Word on Fire on Tuesday.
Bishop-designate Barron explained in a 2013 interview his reason for using video. "If you want to reach people who are under 40, you have to use media. Things like YouTube had just come into being and we jumped into that with two feet.”
“If you want to find the unchurched Catholics and the secularists, you aren't going to find them by staying in church and inviting them to programmes. You have to use this new means. We have to invade that space."
He is slated to be a speaker at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia in September, although it was not immediately clear whether his new duties as a bishop would allow him to remain on the schedule.
Bishop-designates Brennan, O'Connell and Barron are expected to be ordained bishops this fall, though no date has been set yet.
Los Angeles is the largest archdiocese in the country by population, with about 4.3 million Catholics. It currently has four active auxiliaries – Bishops Edward W. Clark, Thomas J. Curry, Oscar A. Solis and Alexander Salazar.
It also has two retired auxiliaries – Bishop Gerald Wilkerson, who turned 75 last October and whose resignation was accepted yesterday, and Joseph Sartoris, who retired in 2002.
Above: Bishop-elect Barron. Photo: CNS/The Tidings
Loading ...
